Inclusive access to emergency services: A complete system focused on hearing-impaired citizens

In case of emergency, hearing impaired people are not always able to access emergency services and, hence, they do not have equal access to social support and infrastructure. In this work, we undertake the development and evaluation of a system aiming to meet the communication needs of hearing impaired citizens in cases of emergency. The system consists of (i) a mobile application that records and sends the details of an emergency event, and (ii) a central management system that handles these calls from the operation center at the emergency services. The system was completed in four cycles of design, development and evaluation with the involvement of 74 hearing impaired users and three officers from the Cyprus Police (Emergency Response Unit)

Embracing Collaboration and Social Perspective Taking Using Interactive Tabletops

In a contemporary multicultural classroom in which students from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds learn together, it becomes necessary to embrace collaboration, social perspective-taking, and understanding of the other to help students comprehend classmates’ values and perspectives. Based on the already researched affordances of interactive tabletops in education, as well as promising empirical results from their limited application in multicultural settings, the authors present a case of practical and impactful technology research in a culturally diverse classroom. The study was conducted with 44 students as part of their formal, socio-emotional education course in a public school in Cyprus. The study presents evidence of perceived collaborative learning around the tabletop, as well as gains in social perspective-taking propensity from pre- to post-test, demonstrating a promising use of interactive tabletops and related technologies in the field of education

Development of computational thinking skills through educational robotics

Computational thinking (CT) is an important concept in modern education. The scientific community is not only investigating the skills involved in CT but, is also trying to establish how these skills can be developed and through what technological means. Meanwhile, a few studies have investigated the effectiveness of educational robotics (ER) as technological means which can support the development of CT but, issues of measurement of CT (i.e., using validated instruments) seem to hinder the validity of these investigations. In this paper, two quasi-experimental studies were conducted to address students' CT gains linked to their participation in ER activities. The first study was conducted at a primary school in the Eastern Mediterranean; 15 consented students participated in ER activities for five weeks. The second study included 16 students in a secondary school in the same region, who participated in ER activities for three months. Quantitative results, based on a valid measure of CT, showed that the students who participated in the ER interventions demonstrated significant improvement in their CT skills. This study extends the evidence of the potential of using ER to improve students' CT skills in K-12 contexts

Augmented reality supporting deaf students in mainstream schools: Two case studies of practical utility of the technology

The study suggests a practical use of augmented reality (AR) in supporting Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students in mainstream schools. The paper presents two case studies. First, we used AR via wearable glasses to support the communication and feedback loop between the instructor and DHH learner during the lesson. Second, we used AR via a typical tablet to support the DHH students in acquiring vocabulary and subsequently, improving their reading-comprehension capabilities. In the first study, although the wearable AR glasses were not stylish enough to be attractive to the DHH adolescent, who felt uncomfortable wearing them in a real classroom setting, she was positive about the potential value of the technology in providing immediate feedback and communication with the educator. In the second study, the experience was positively endorsed by four participating six-graders and their special teacher who thought that AR technology can be a great supporting tool during reading-comprehension of difficult texts. The study demonstrates the utility of AR technology in real world settings, serving the needs of special education students, in this case, those with hearing loss, potentially contributing to more inclusive classroom environments in mainstream schools

Using virtual reality to train designers to develop friendly interfaces for achromatic vision patients

An investigation in the use of Virtual Reality as a means of training designers to design interfaces accessible to achromatic vision patients is presented. Within this context virtual environments incorporating real life environments are visualised through the eyes of achromatic vision patients and designers are given the opportunity to navigate and interact with the virtual environment using different types of interaction schemes. Through the process designers assess the applicability of different interaction methods adjusted to the needs of achromatic vision patients. According to the results of an experimental investigation, the idea of using Virtual Reality-based training is deemed effective

Inclusive access to emergency services: an action research project focused on hearing-impaired citizens

In case of emergency, hearing-impaired people are not always able to access emergency services, and hence, they do not have equal access to social support and infrastructure. In this work, we describe an action research study that undertakes the development and evaluation of a system aiming to meet the communication needs of hearing-impaired citizens in cases of emergency. The system consists of (1) a mobile application that records and sends the details of an emergency event and (2) a central management system that handles these calls from the operation center at the emergency services. The system was completed in four cycles of design, development and evaluation with the involvement of 74 hearing-impaired users and three officers from the Cyprus Police (Emergency Response Unit). Results demonstrated how the system can provide easy and direct access to emergency services, without the need of any intermediate, enabling the inclusion of these citizens in a critical process such as the response to an emergency

A personal tour of cultural heritage for deaf museum visitors

This paper describes the first milestone and results of an ongoing project involving the implementation and pilot testing of an application aiming to promote cultural heritage and dissemination of information with the use of interactive small screen technology. The bespoke application was designed for deaf visitors to enable a museum experience without the support of a physical sign language interpreter. The application was pilot tested in the Pattichion Municipal Museum in Cyprus. Our findings showed high levels of user satisfaction and usefulness of the application in allowing deaf museum visitors to have an enjoyable tour, using their mobile devices as the only means of support

Technology support for the inclusion of deaf students in mainstream schools: a summary of research from 2007 to 2017

The paper examines the use of technology as a means for the inclusion of Deaf and Hard of Hearing (DHH) students in mainstream K-12 schools, covering the publications of the last decade. A systematic search of databases was carried out to locate theoretical and empirical studies investigating technologies as auxiliary or supporting tools for the inclusion of DHH students. Results are presented in two categories: (1) review/survey or theoretical papers and (2) studies of technology design and evaluation. Based on our findings, there is only preliminary evidence on how technology can support the inclusion of DHH students in mainstream schools. We argue that there is less need for research on technologies specialized on the disability, aiming to accommodate hearing loss, such as technologies to support the acquisition of sign language or speech-to-text translation of the teacher’s talk. There is a major need for technology integration and research on its real-world use and utility, towards the inclusion of all students in the mainstream classroom, serving the needs of both DHH students and the general student population

Enhancing accessibility in cultural heritage environments: considerations for social computing

Current technological advancements offer many ways of enhancing disabled peoples’ access to cultural heritage environments. A new generation of social computing technologies and systems is changing the way in which we access cultural heritage, facilitating the inclusion of socially isolated groups of people. Under this perspective, this paper aims to explore the potential impact of social computing systems to enhance peoples’ access to cultural heritage, particularly focusing on deaf and disabled users. By reviewing the current literature on social computing and cultural heritage, the paper first summarizes the related applications and appropriate key technologies; second, it provides examples of innovative approaches to the enhancement of user engagement and interaction through social computing. Moreover, the paper highlights arising issues of privacy, as well as ethical considerations, and presents design principles for ensuring privacy. The study concludes by discussing challenges for inclusive social computing applications in the context of cultural heritage and pointing out areas where future research is needed